Jill Biden’s press secretary has walked back comments the first lady made about inviting Iowa’s women’s basketball team to the White House after their loss in the NCAA championship game on Sunday.
Biden watched LSU’s 102-85 victory over Iowa from the stands at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Sunday night. National champions often visit the White House after title victories, but Biden broke with tradition when she suggested Iowa could too.
“I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House; we always do. So, we hope LSU will come,” Biden said on Monday. “But, you know, I’m going to tell Joe I think Iowa should come too, because they played such a good game.”
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about whether Joe Biden would also extend an invitation to Iowa – and whether it would be a joint visit with LSU or a separate engagement. However, the first lady received pushback for her comments.
LSU star Angel Reese tweeted a link to a story on Jill Biden’s remarks on Monday. “A JOKE,” she wrote, along with three rolling-on-floor-laughing emojis.
The First Lady loved watching the NCAA women's basketball championship game alongside young student athletes and admires how far women have advanced in sports since the passing of Title IX.
— Vanessa Valdivia (@vvaldivia46) April 4, 2023
On Tuesday, Jill Biden’s press secretary, Vanessa Valdivia, tweeted to clarify that the first lady “admires how far women have advanced in sports since the passing of Title IX” and that “[her] comments in Colorado were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House.”
Iowa did not immediately respond to a request for comment on a potential White House invitation.
The Iowa-LSU match-up was the most watched women’s college basketball game of all time in the US. It averaged 9.9 million viewers, up 103% from last year’s final.
It also raised debate around race. LSU had mostly Black players and Iowa had mostly white players. Many believed Iowa’s star player, Caitlin Clark, received more positive coverage than Reese.
Reese – the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player – received scrutiny after she waved her hand in front of her face while staring down Clark in the final moments of LSU’s win, then pointed toward her finger, a reference to the championship ring she was about to receive.
Social media lit up in the aftermath, with some saying it was merely trash talk and part of the game, while others condemned Reese for lacking grace in victory. Reese was unapologetic.
“All year, I was critiqued about who I was,” Reese said. “I don’t fit in a box that y’all want me to be in. I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto. But when other people do it, y’all say nothing. So this was for the girls that look like me, that’s going to speak up on what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you.”
Reese is Black and Clark is white.
Clark made a similar face-waving gesture during Iowa’s Elite Eight victory over Louisville. Clark set the record for points scored in an NCAA tournament with 191 in six games. In an interview with ESPN on Tuesday, Clark defended Reese and said Iowa should not receive a White House invitation.
“That’s for LSU,” Clark said. “They should enjoy every single second of being the champion. I think that’s theirs to do. I don’t think runner-ups usually go to the White House.”
In Monday’s remarks, Biden also praised how far women’s sports in the US have come since 1972, when Title IX gave women equal rights in sports at schools that receive federal funding.
“It was so exciting, wasn’t it? It was such a great game” she said. “I’m old enough that I remember when we got Title IX. We fought so hard, right? We fought so hard. And look at where women’s sports have come today.”
